Surveillance on Antimicrobial Resistance: Bacteriological Monitoring and Resistance Profiles of Isolates from Surfaces and Equipment at a Ghanaian Tertiary Healthcare Facility

Nosocomial infections play a leading part in the infectious disease burden. Most developing countries, however, have no published data on nosocomial pathogens. This study was undertaken to determine the occurrence of pathogenic microbes contaminating different objects, medical equipment and electronic devices at selected wards in Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH). The methodology involved swabbing 15 different items in 14 selected wards at HTH. The surfaces were swabbed using guidelines by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14698-1). The samples were analysed through culture-based methods and biochemical assays. Susceptibility testing was conducted using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method employing guidelines from the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. Of the total 210 samples analysed, 53.8% (n = 113) were positive for bacteria. 134 bacterial isolates from ten different species were isolated. About 89% of these isolates were Gram-positive while Gram-negative isolates accounted for 11%. Staphylococcus aureus was the most abundant pathogen on all items sampled. Ciprofloxacin was the most active agent against the S. aureus isolates (n = 82, 75.9%) while resistance to tetracycline was high (n = 49, 45.54%). Multidrug-resistant strains of S. epidermidis, S. saprophyticus, S. marcescens, S. sonnei, S. typhi, K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca and P. mirabilis were identified as contaminants on inanimate objects and equipment at HTH. The highest frequency of bacterial isolates was found in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In conclusion, the high prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and certain Gram-positive isolates on fomites at the HTH shows a potential risk of nosocomial infections.